GLOBAL - US company Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems has announced that it is to acquire the Icelandic aquaculture equipment company Vaki.

The addition of Vaki is expected to strengthen Pentair’s business by broadening its range of systems, products and services in the growing aquaculture market space.

The transaction is anticipated to be completed in late 2016.

Also in Iceland, Icelandic fishermen announced they are to go on strike on 10 November 2016.

The strike action is a last resort after fishermen and employers failed to reach an agreement over pay and pricing.

One major issue is the complicated fish pricing structure whereby the prices of fish sold at auction differ to those sold by vertically-integrated companies, which are able to set their own prices. This price difference is estimated to be up to 30 per cent.

The last agreement between the parties ended back in 2011 and no further agreement has been reached since.

In other news, new data from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) warns that Mediterranean swordfish stocks face a zero chance of recovery if immediate action is not taken.

Oceana has called on EU countries to stop all swordfish fishing in the Mediterranean unless an immediate recovery plan to rebuild stocks is put in place.

The Mediterranean swordfish stock has been reduced to one third of its size in just thirty years and recent public data has also shown that swordfish fishing fleets and markets are now beginning to suffer the economic impact of this loss.